Blog

Sunday was gardens open day in Alexandra Park Road N22. A bunch of gardens at the junction with Palace Gates Road has opened annually for many years, showing gardens with all sorts of different characters: big, small, front, back, compact and rambling, and with all sorts of ingenious uses of space - around dustbins and pavement trees, in old baths and pots, and wherever. It was down to only three gardens this year, one of the stars having sadly (from thee street-gardening point of view) had to move away during the year.

The events also spilled out into the street for traditional (so they say) dancing with swords or clogs (clogs on female feet, swords in male hands). The dancers are accompanied by pipe or accordion, but more musicians are hidden away behind the plants, accompanying the tea and cakes and plant sales. This year was the last time, at least in its old form, that all this is going to happen, so here are some pictures for the record, or for those who've never seen it - especially the sword dancing, which is a very dramatic and visual experience. There was some talk of Welsh tunes being danced to, and there was another bloke wandering around waving a sword and giving orders which was probably the English contribution (... only joking).